Padgett Payroll Services®, small business payroll experts, continues its guide to hiring best practices for small businesses. In Part One we covered: defining company culture, deciding future employee qualities and skills and prioritizing these qualities and skills. This section will cover the recruiting, interviewing and vetting process for employees.
Now that you have your job description, the next step will be to create your recruiting, interviewing and vetting process. Having this process outlined prior to starting your employee search will allow you to systematically review potential employees for the best fit. We will start with the recruiting process.
Recruiting should be done on an ongoing basis, to keep your pipeline of potential employees filled. Having an eye out for potential employees will enable you to more quickly fill a position, which is necessary if an employee gives his two-week notice or if you land a large new client. So how do you find potential employees? The oldest, and often the best, method is to ask your network. Ask current employees, business associates, vendors and other people in your network if they know anyone who would be suitable for the position you are looking to fill. Other options include social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, job listing sites, such as Indeed, your company’s web site, blogs and Web sites for your industry, local newspapers and employment agencies.
Interviewing can be a nerve-wracking process. It is best to outline what you want to ask beforehand so you can make sure you find out the most important information from your candidate. Questions should be tailored to the specific job you are looking to fill, and should be based on the qualities and skills list you compiled. Here are a few examples of questions you can use in an interview:
- What do you like about your current job?
- What do you want to do?
- Please give a specific example of when you have used X skill in your previous jobs.
You will also need to review what questions you legally cannot ask interviewees. Check with your local U.S. Small Business Administration Office for information on what questions are prohibited by federal and state laws.
Finally, you will need to outline your vetting process. Your definition of your company culture, your prioritized list of qualities and skills and your interviewee responses will all come together here to help you make the decision on the best candidate for the position. Review your candidates’ answers to your interview questions and match them against your company’s culture and the priorities you have for the qualities and skills you need. Which candidate will be the best fit for your company?
Now that you have defined your company culture, created a job description and outlined your recruiting, interviewing and vetting process, you are ready to start hiring employees to grow your business! Padgett Payroll Services® is here to help you with any payroll needs you have. Our expert specialists will take care of payroll, direct deposit, worker’s compensation, tax filing, withholding and IRS form 941. This enables you to focus on growing and running your business while feeling secure that your employees are being paid correctly and your payroll taxes are accurate. Contact us today to learn more about our proven payroll services.